Fireworks illuminated skies over Paris, Rio and Sydney to celebrate the entry to 2024, while in Israel, Gaza and Ukraine, rockets and strikes marked the year's earliest hours.
In an interview with FRANCE 24, former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko (2014-2019) reacted to the US Senate withholding a major package of financial and military aid for Kyiv. Poroshenko warned that the coming days are among "the most important in Ukrainian history" and undoubtedly for the world. He called it "absolutely unacceptable" that Ukraine can be the "hostage" of other issues such as internal politics ahead of next year's US presidential elections.